Of Gloves and Couches
by Tangle
Summary: Companion piece to 'Of Needles and Shackles'--Logan comes back to an unexpected reunion with Rogue.


Of Gloves and Couches  
By: Tangle  
Disclaimer: All your base are not belong to us.  
Summary: Companion piece to 'Of Needles and Shackles'--Logan comes back to an unexpected reunion with Rogue.  
Rating: PG

~~~ 

Whatever kind of welcome Logan had expected, it wasn't what he got. Scott had been coldly cordial but there was no surprise there. Their personalities clashed too much to make a good friendship--it was hard for someone with a broom handle for a spine to interact well with someone who learns rules for the sole reason of being able to break them properly. And although he would rather die than admit it, Logan envied Scott too much to ever be close to him. Scott had a life both ahead of and behind him. Scott knew his past and knew his future. Scott had everything. Scott was, in a word, free. And of all the things Scott had, Jean was the most easily accessible to Logan so of course he played that hand for all it was worth. He never expected to actually get Jean--the whole objective was to piss off Scott--but he had never expected to come back and find her gone either. It was a possibility that had never really entered his mind. And Ororo was gone as well, but no one would give him any details on either her or Jean. That made it easy enough to figure out. At least the professor hadn't changed--it seemed everyone else had, some more drastically than others. 

The mansion was as busy as he remembered it to be. Students milling about, all excited and chattering nonstop because it was Friday and afternoon classes were out early. Looking around Logan realized that aside from the professor he was the only adult he could find and once again it was a mystery left unexplained. This lack of answers on all fronts was more than irritating him and, biting back a growl threatening to rise, he wandered through the halls in search of the one other person here that he knew and that knew him. Marie. 

He found her in the rec room, watching a movie with some of her friends. The second Lord of the Rings, if his memory served him correctly. There were five of them piled close onto the couch, four actually sitting on it with the last stretched out across them. On the far edge sat an Asian girl, her dark hair piled up behind bright glasses and wearing a shockingly yellow insult to trench coats everywhere. Beside her was a young black boy, his arms crossed over his chest but a smile threatening to tug across his face. Another boy, this one blond and smirking, sat on his other side. Marie sat beside him, a scarf wound around her neck and dark gloves disappearing under her long sleeves. One of her arms was draped over the back of the couch while her free hand gently stroked the face that lay across her legs, an unshaven face with long hair and dark red eyes. Neither of the two of them seemed to be paying much attention to the movie, both only offering half-hearted nods whenever the other girl would make lewd comments concerning a certain blond elf and a certain horse trick. Something about the whole scene made Logan's blood boil--Marie wasn't old enough for boys, not by half! He let a growl rumble low in his throat as he approached the back of the cough and five pairs of eyes were immediately on him. 

Marie blinked a few times, as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Then her eyes hardened and she smiled grimly, looking back down at the boy in her lap. "Rem," she told him gently. "You gotta move, sugah, Ah have ta get up. Someone ta talk to." The boy said nothing, merely crooked his finger towards her. With a soft sigh she leaned down to see what he wanted to tell her and Logan watched, fuming, as the boy moved swiftly to cover her mouth with the scarf and lay a quick kiss to her lips before sitting up as she wished. Marie shook her head in amusement as she got to her feet, ruffling his hair with one hand. "Ah'll be right back, Swamp Rat," she assured him as she walked towards Logan. 

"Miss you already, ma cherè," he called with a roguish grin. Logan didn't like this kid, not one bit. 

She smiled right back at him. "Just have a few things ta straighten out." She waved goodbye to the ground, gloved fingers wiggling in the air, and let Logan lead her out by the elbow. The small staff kitchen was just down the hall and completely empty--that was where they went. As soon as the door was shut and they were alone Marie wrenched her arm from Logan's grasp. "Where the hell you been?" she demanded. 

"Looking," he replied curtly. "And what was that out there, Marie?" 

If she wasn't mad before she really was now. There was a fire in her eyes that Logan had only ever seen in himself. "Don't fo' one minute think you can call me that. Don't you dare even try," she warned him icily, eyes narrowed. "You ain't done nothing ta deserve ta call me Marie. Mah name's Rogue, and you'd do good ta learn that." She crossed her arms over her chest and stared him straight in the eyes. There were very few who would even try that. "Ah trusted you, Logan!" Her voice began to raise, almost desperate in tone. "Ah trusted that you'd be there fo' me, that you'd help me when Ah needed you. And fo' all of a week, you did. But aftah that? Nothing. Now you come back an' all you can say fo' yourself is 'Looking' an' you expect me ta bawl all ovah myself cause--mah goodness--Logan's back. Nuh uh, sugah. Ain't gonna happen." There was more of Logan left in Rogue than anyone cared to admit and right now it was all showing through. 

Logan could barely believe what he saw--the child he left was a full grown, quick-tempered woman. "Look," he started, "I had--" 

"--yoah reasons, Ah'm sure," she finished for him. "But two years, Logan? Two years with no call, no card, no letter, no 'Hiya, kid, gotta few more things ta sort out but Ah'll be back'? You were gone, an' aftah a while no one thought you were evah coming back. Dammit, Logan," she hissed. "Ah thought you were dead! Ah though Ah was nevah gonna see you again. Ah thought . . . you promised you'd look out fo' me but aftah over a year, as far as Ah could figure you'd broken that promise. An' you know what?" 

He was curious despite himself. "What?" 

Her tone went from pleading to pleased. "Once Ah stopped waiting fo' you, Ah got a real good look at the world around me an' all the people Ah'd been neglecting. Ah saw what Ah'd been missing an' got on with life. Got good friends like John an' Jubes an' Ev. Got a wonderful boyfriend--Remy--whose not afraid ta try ta touch me, no matter the risks. Three seconds. He tried an' tried an' finally figured it out--mah powers don't kick in fo' three seconds." Then her voice got hard again. "And now you come in, trying ta judge mah life when you ain't even been a part of it." 

She had too many good points for him to really try to argue with any of them. All he could do was plead guilty as charged and pray he got a light sentence. "Not gonna make any excuses," he told her up front. "I got back out into the world and figured it was the real place I belonged. I spent a lot of time out there before I really got curious about who I was, and the lead Wheels had given me." Rogue didn't even smile at the nickname--she was definitely still pissed. "That was pretty much a dead end but I hung out for a little while before realizin' I needed to come back. Besides," he smirked, pulling out his last trump card. The smirk always worked, on everyone. "If I remember correctly, there were some tags I said I'd be back for." 

Rogue shrugged. "Ah'll get 'em later. They're in mah room." That was a flat out lie--they were in her back pocket. She hadn't given up on him completely, not yet. "So." The word hung in the air between them as she shifted her weight onto her back good, arms crossed once more over her chest as she stared him down with cool brown eyes. Whatever happened, happened. She was prepared to deal with anything from him because after all, she still had him to reference. 

"So," he echoed. "Start over?" 

She considered it for a moment, then stuck out one gloved hand. "Ah'm Rogue." 

He shook it. "Logan. You from around here?" 

"You betcha, sugah," she replied with a laugh. 

"Got your parents on the outside?" 

Once more, barked laughter. "Ah wouldn't go so far as ta say that." 

"I'll look after you, then." 

"Promise?" 

"Promise." 

~~~ 

A/N: Rogue's eyes are **green**, dammit! Stupid movie people *kicks* 


End file.
